Notes

In this week's reading, I learned how similar we are all. Reading Mill's first line got me thinking about our flaws and problems and how we never considered how society might play a role in how we think, feel, or behave. The theme of being trapped was mentioned repeatedly in the lecture and I never considered how our actions can have a positive or negative impact on outcomes, depending on how we think. An example that helped me understand better was a girl who wants to appear thinner and will sacrifice her health resulting in severe health issues. It is possible to see it as a personal problem, and how she is punishing herself to look that way. A sociological imagination might suggest that social media has contributed to the obsession of society with a perfect and slim body and a negative view of thicker bodies, such as body shaming. Where it can directly or indirectly have an effect on many people. As well, I found it interesting how our actions are influeced by the circumstances we are in, and how the sociological imagination helps us view the interrelationship between personal problems and public issues. It is important to understand ourselves as well as others. Developing an open-minded and respectful attitude as well as understanding is essential.

What I learned about race and ethnicity in this week's reading was how similar everyone is. After reading the first line in Mill's piece it got me thinking about all our flaws and problems and how we never considered how society might play a role in our thoughts or feelings or if others might feel the same. The theme of being "trapped" was mentioned many times in the lecture and I never thought about how certain actions can lead to different outcomes or perspectives. It depends on our attitude. An example, that helped me understand is if a girl wants to look thinner, she will sacrifice her health causing her to have severe health-related issues. It might be seen as a personal problem and she's punishing herself to look a certain way. But if it is seen from a sociological imagination perspective it can be said that social media has helped with the obsession of society to have a perfect and slim body and have a negative view of the thicker body, aka body shaming. Where it can directly or indirectly have an effect on many people. I also found it surprising how our actions are influenced by the situation we are situated in and the behaviors we are surrounded by, in which the sociological imagination helps us view the interrelationship between personal problems and public issues. This also speaks bout understanding where your viewpoints stand and others'. About how we need to understand others as well as ourselves. Developing an open-minded and respectful attitude as well as understanding is essential.